The Oregon CHRC was created in 1996 as a new and developing center. It has since funded eight Junior Investigators. The center has achieved its success through the success of its trainees. Seven of the trainees have procured funding from the NIH, and all eight have obtained funding independent of the Oregon CHRC program. The activities of the Junior Investigators have been facilitated by a group of senior faculty who comprise the Advisory Committee and core of Established Investigators. These scientists represent a variety of training facilities in Portland, and have diverse areas of interest that are of relevance to the Pediatric Investigator. All of the participants have a strong history of training, and are to be involved in the creation of future Pediatric Physician-Scientists. CHRC funding has been used to establish an exceptional Core Laboratory within the Department of Pediatrics. The Core Laboratory encompasses the gamut of molecular biology methodologies and expertise, including tissue culture DNA sequencing, gene discovery with microarray technology, and a state-of-the-art functional genomics component to be developed as part of the current proposal. An effective formal educational program has been implemented and will be provided during the first two years of training for each Junior Investigator.